It is just like Ferrari to one-up someone.
Hublot's relationship with Ferrari continues with vigor into 2013 with the
introduction of the intensely engineered Masterpiece MP-05 LaFerrari watch.
With 50 days (days!) of power reserve this timepiece is record setting, and it
also has a tourbillon escapement. There haven't been a lot of watches in the
Hublot Masterpiece collection: those watches which represent the top level of
in-house made mechanical wonder at the brand. The LaFerrari is one of them
however. Hublot's take on luxury sometimes takes the form of gold and diamonds,
but much of the time is about performance, mechanical intrigue, and modern
design. The MP-05 is one of those.
Visually speaking,
the MP-05 LaFerrari is an extension of the Hublot La Cle Du Temps (hands on
there). Those both share a sleek, tapering black case with semi-organic design
as well as horizontally mounted tourbillons that peek out on the lower part of
the case. The MP-05 LaFerrari goes much further to incorporate design DNA from
the 2013 LaFerrari car (where the name is borrowed from). Both the watch and
the car are purposeful in their look, but also are given smooth lines. Much of
the dial is open, with an impressively shaped sapphire crystal and view into
much of the Hublot made caliber HUB9005.H1.6 manually wound movement.
The MP-05 LaFerrari
watch will come in a matte black case done in titanium with a rubber strap. The
design is progressively entertaining with its unabashed expensiveness and focus
on bragging-right spec specs. In fact, with a slightly similar design and look,
the Hublot MP-05 is a Rebellion T-1000 killer. Rebellion's watch also tells
time on barrel drums like T-1000, and also has a similar long power reserve.
Rebellion was known for breaking a few records with the 40 day power reserve in
the T-1000 collection. Nevertheless Hublot sweeps in to create a watch with an
even longer power reserve, and then just throws in that tourbillon. So in some
ways the MP-05 watch is simply a removal of Rebellion's main item of pride and
offering those bragging rights to Hublot.
With carbon fiber on the case, there are some
light design cues in the watch from the Ferrari car. The top crystal is one,
and the entire case design is meant to mimic the shape of the beautiful car, though
it is a light connection. The Ferrari relationship allows Hublot to experiment
in new areas and work with the famous automaker to produce rather original
timepieces such as this one. It doesn't even mater that the MP-05 isn't that
easy to read (even though the numerals all have SuperLumiNova on them). Limited
to just 50 pieces, this is another completely wild watch, and precisely the
reason we get excited to meet with Hublot in this and all other years at
Baselworld. Price for the Hublot Masterpiece MP-05 LaFerrari watch will be
about 300,000 Swiss Francs.
GALLERY
